


Apex

by Turtlov



Category: Alien vs Predator (2004), Aliens vs Predators Series - Various Authors, Monster Boyfriend - Fandom, The Predator (2018), monster love - Fandom, terato love, teratophilia - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Human/Monster Romance, M/M, Monster Boyfriend, Other, Predator Brothers, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Teratophilia, Yautja x reader, monster/human, predator x reader, sfw, teratophile, yautja/reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-09-12 20:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16878363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turtlov/pseuds/Turtlov
Summary: Reader is a photographer stationed in the heart of the amazon. There is a lot of dangerous and docile wildlife to document- however, there is one creature that wasn't in the travel booklet.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy this! This is my first terato-love story.

Summary: You are a wildlife photojournalist in the Amazon. The rainforest is full of dangerous creatures, but you never thought you’d be housing one of them. Especially not the most dangerous of them all. 

—–

You lay in the hammock, reading. There wasn’t much to do this far from human civilization. You _could_ try a nature hike, but it was growing late and the wildlife here was dangerous. You weren’t too keen on being injected with venom, mauled, or even harassed by thorny undergrowth  ~~in the pitch black forest~~. 

With all of these standards, many people would ask you why you even bothered going to spend your time in such a place. Part of it was that you needed to be here for your career- you were a photojournalist and you were documenting the predators in the local ecosystem, away from human intervention. Then there was another reason- a personal reason. 

The door to your humble little hut burst open and you jumped. When I had said the things that resided in this place were dangerous, I failed to mention the deadliest thing there. Yeyin-thwei. His name was hard to pronounce, and it even took you a few times to actually understand what he was saying when you had asked for it. Quite some time ago you had resigned to calling him Yin. 

Yin closed the door and wordlessly stomped to the water basin. He discarded different components of his armor and splashed water onto his face and arms. You watched curiously, closing your book and setting it aside. 

“How was scouting?” you asked. He turned his head slightly and clicked in annoyance and waved a hand in the air dismissively. Your bottom lip jutted out subconsciously and you furrowed your brow. Clearly his search didn’t go well. Due to the language barrier, you didn’t know exactly what he was looking for- just that he was trying to find something. You were about to say something else, but your companion came over to you and plopped onto the hammock next to you, nearly launching you a foot into the air from the force of the impact. 

He leaned his head back and something akin to a sigh escaped him. You awkwardly rest your hands on your stomach and sit in the silence. Yin wasn’t the greatest conversationalist. Hell he hardly conversed at all.

  Some may ask how exactly you came to be sitting by a… whatever he was. In truth you would never tell them and deny Yin ever existed, but you could recount the events to yourself just fine.

 ——-

Your camera softly clicked as you took another picture of the creature. A harpy eagle, a rather large one at that, sat on an overhanging branch above the river preening itself. You shuffled forward to take a better photo and almost toppled over as a deafening noise soared over you, accompanied with a gust of wind. You cursed and caught yourself before landing face first into the water, which was likely filled with caiman and other predators who would love to get a bite of something invading their hunting grounds.

 “Damn what was that, a military plane or something?” you dust your hands off on your pants. “There’s not a base in over a 70 mile radius.”

 Something didn’t sit right with you here. After some consideration, you decided you would check it out. It took you about 20 minutes to get there and you couldn’t believe your eyes. In front of you was an odd looking aircraft(?) perhaps a prototype for the air force in Columbia? About 15 feet away from the wrecked vessel, you heard a crash through the foliage behind you. You whirled around just in time to see an armored figure stumble in front of you and collapse to the ground.

“Holy shit! You scared me! Are you okay?” you gasped and knelt down next to them. Something unintelligible and almost inhuman came from the suit as you placed your hand gently on their shoulder. Long and strange looking dred locks hung from behind the metal mask. What the hell kind of pilot was this? 

“Urk..” they gurgled out. Apparently an injured one. Okay. You grunted and helped them stand, supporting them with one shoulder, and lead them back to your makeshift home where you took care of them. It had been a week or so before he had actually removed his mask and when he did, you had feinted.

It took some time for you to adjust to the fact that you had been harboring an extraterrestrial for nearly a month, but you slowly grew to accept it. What were you going to do? Walk to the nearest town and hope they had a phone that could reach the U.S government? I don’t think so. You had a scheduled pick up and that wasn’t for another few weeks. 

So, you and Yin coexisted and you helped him whenever you could. He found many uses for your tools that you used for your photography equipment and often borrowed them. Well, picked them up and pointedly shook them at you and then himself until you understood.

——

You turned your head to look at Yin. His eyes were closed and he looked clearly exhausted. 

“I know this is basically hopeless, but what are you even looking for out there?” you ask. He shifts to return your gaze and clicks again. You must look as lost as you feel because he sits up and gestures to you and then to him.

 “Uhh, us? No? Ok. Me? Nope, alright. Two… people? Also wrong… Person? Friend?” he nods. “Oh! You’re looking for someone else who was on the ship with you! How are you supposed to find them, this place is huge and from what you’ve taught me, you guys are really good at hiding.” 

Yin makes a crackling noise and pulls a device from his belt. It was a box with a screen and different nobs and buttons. This is what he often used your tools on. So far, he had only ever been frustrated at it and yielded no results.

“What, is that, like, a phone or something?” you chuckle. You’re surprised when Yin nods. “Oh. What if you can’t find him?” 

Yin sits still and you sense he is unsure how to explain it to you using only vague gestures. You had to teach this guy ASL or something. Careful not to flip over, you get out of the hammock and start to get ready for bed. 

“I’ll keep an eye out for your buddy while I’m in the field tomorrow.” you promise him. Yin again nods and reclines in the hammock. It’d be fine if you lent a helping hand, what’s the worst that could happen?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go on your photo outing, simultaneously looking for subjects and a possible crash survivor. What you didn’t think would happen today was that you’d be attacked. You probably should have stayed home today.

You trekked through the underbrush, pushing aside branches and hanging vines carefully. The last thing you wanted to do was disturb a snake or insect that could do some damage to you. The camouflage of the animals in the rainforest was impeccable. You stepped into an open area between trees and took a swig of your water. All morning, you had been hiking through the forest to find the perfect shots while also keeping an eye out for Yin’s comrade. 

As you placed your water bottle back in it’s holster, something started ringing in your ears. You looked around, searching for the source of the sound. There was nothing else in the clearing with you. The noise continued, like the charging of a disposable camera flash. Your heart rate quickened and a feeling of fear started to grow in your stomach. Something wasn’t right here. Now you were standing in the middle of the clearing, eyes darting here and there frantically. A twig snapped and a few leaves rustled around you. 

You let out a surprised yelp when something large and threatening landed with a thud on the edge of the clearing, crouched. It stood and you recognized the metallic armor and alien tech adorning the figure. However, this creature was not Yin. He was wearing a similar mask, but you could feel him staring at you with something akin to malice. You jumped when he whipped out a rod that extended into an intricate spear. 

“U-um… hey wait just a se-” you squeaked, dodging to the side as he swung at you. “Hey! Not cool! You need to chill your dred head, buddy!” you snap, fueled by indignance. You fell backwards, stumbling over yourself to escape the next swing that came your way. “Shit.” 

He towered above you and held his spear up, ready to strike. There was a moment of hesitation before he brought the weapon down upon you. You flung your hands out in front of you and screwed your eyes shut, as if that would put up some kind of shield between the two of you. The blow you were expecting, though, never came. You cracked open one eye and saw Yin standing over you, his bracer crossed with the spear. He clicked, tilting his head your way. 

Your attacker took a few steps back, obviously surprised. He made a few noises and you realized that he was actually speaking in the intricate language Yin sometimes would waste time trying to talk to you in. They exchanged words, holding a conversation you couldn’t follow and the other creature came forward to rest his hand on Yin’s shoulder and shake him gently. Yin returned the gesture and they stood there silently for a moment before Yin turned to you and motioned to you to stand. 

Cautiously, you heaved yourself off of the ground and dusted the back of your legs off, keeping your distance. Yin looked back at you again and clicked, a bit more annoyed, and motioned you forward again. You took a few steps closer so you were standing adjacent to him, with his shoulder partially shielding you from his friend. 

“Erm… You must be who he was looking for. I’m glad I lived long enough to meet you.” you hold out a shaky hand in an attempt of truce. The imposing hunter looked down to your hand and then back to you. He looked once more to Yin who gave a curt nod and he clapped you on the shoulder and gave you a firm shake. “Oof!” you felt your breath leave your body momentarily. 

“So, uh, what do I call you, big guy?” you asked. This thing was trying to kill you a few minutes ago, and now he was greeting you like a comrade. You felt awkward. The taller newcomer clicked and gave out a gravelly response. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that a bit slower?” 

“Dah-nan-ku” he sounded it out, syllable by syllable. 

“Dah’nanku. Donnie it is.” you nodded, turning to pick up the bag you dropped in the midst of the action. “Well it’s great to meet you, but I have a deadline and over two dozen more pictures to take. Yin, if you need help with something, I’ll be out taking pictures of the safer animals of the rainforest. Like a fucking pit viper or something.” you grumble as you shoulder your bag. About halfway to exiting the clearing, a branch snaps loudly and a snarl echoed around you. 

Yin and Donnie crouched, readying their weapons. You crept closer to them, not wanting to be anywhere near the tree line. Another loud growl and a lithe, spotted animal leapt into the clearing. You stared in astonishment at the jaguar. It started circling around the three of you, its snout crinkling. The boys made to attack it and you held your arms out to halt them. 

“Woah woah woah woah woah-” you whispered. “I am here to observe these animals, not let them be slaughtered. I attended a briefing on this kind of situation, let me handle it.” you slowly straightened to your full height and puffed out your chest, trying to make yourself seem bigger and more imposing. The jaguar lowered itself closer to the ground, its ears twitching. You gave a loud shout, broadening your shoulders and standing tall. The jaguar gave a final growl and then slunk away into the rainforest. You turned to your company, relaxing your shoulders. “See? Not everything that threatens you deserves to die. You just have to show it who is the apex here.” 

The two of them stare blankly at you from behind their masks and say nothing. You huff awkwardly and rub your neck, glancing at the ground. 

“Okay, well. I don’t want to have a run in with another thing that wants to kill me so uh… I think I might just turn in and head home; maybe read a little bit.” you mumbled, waving to them. Though you weren’t too excited about hiking through the rainforest after already two dangerous encounters, you felt that you were unwanted company in this reunion of companions. However, as you made your way back to the hut, heavy footfalls followed you and when you looked over your shoulder, Yin and Donnie were there. 

Well, looks like the awkwardness would follow you home. Great. You opened the door and dropped your bag on the floor, heaving a sigh. Your two followers were chatting the entire way back. Yin and Donnie entered the hut and closed the door. Yin removed his mask and soon his friend followed suit. Yin said something and roughly rubbed Donnie’s face, who shoved the other away and chittered. From your time with Yin, you had recognized this as borderline laughter for them. The two of them seemed so close and very happy to be together again. 

Yin turned his gaze to you and you realized you were staring. You tried desperately to look at something else, not wanting to be rude. Yin sat down in one of the chairs with a heavy thud. He waved his hand at Donnie. 

“Mei'hswei.” he stated. Your gaze flickered between he two of them. God you hated this language barrier. Yin looked a bit upset and Donnie chittered again. “Mei’hswei!” he again gestured to him. 

“I heard you, Yeyin, you don’t have to raise your voice.” you sigh, holding your hands out in a calming gesture. He tilts his head at you and seems to give you an expression that says ‘seriously?’. “Now, I know that Mei’hs- whatever isn’t his name because he said it was Dah’nanku. So we are going to have to play a game of charades or Pictionary or something.” you reach into the drawer of your bedside table and retrieve a notepad and pencil. 

Yin took the items from you and drew a crude picture, four indistinct figures somewhat resembling his species. First, there was one smaller figure and a larger, curvier one with a plus sign between them. Then there was a line like a tree diagram leading to two figures that were relatively similar. Yin aggressively tapped the latter drawings and pointed to himself and Donnie, who was curiously bent over to observe the ‘game’. 

“Oh.” you stared at it for a moment longer. “ _Oh!_  Brother?” you pointed to Donnie. Yin gave a single, relieved nod. You laughed, holding a hand to your face. The brothers looked at you, confused. “I should have guessed- you look very similar in the face.” and that was true. They had very similar structure and markings, though Yin’s markings looked closer and less scattered. 

“It’s no wonder you guys wanted to find each other.” you walked over to the water basin and started to wash away the sweat and dirt on your arms and neck. “Family is important.” 

“Family is important.” Donnie repeated. Your head snapped up, eyes wide. 

“W-what?” 

“What?” he tilted his head. 

“Wait can you guys speak English? Have I been acting like an idiot this whole time?” you furrow your brow. Donnie clicks his mandibles rapidly and squints. 

“Speak English.” he chittered. Yin socked him across the back of the head and spoke, warning dripping in his voice. What the hell, did he not want you to know or- Oh. You felt stupid. Donnie was just parroting everything back to you. Of course. 

“I’m almost one hundred percent positive that you’re the younger sibling.” you point to Donnie, frowning halfheartedly. The boys both chittered. God, you hoped you wouldn’t grow to regret letting them into your home. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We have so many questions and sometimes, we aren’t ready for the answers. Reader learns things she didn’t know she didn’t know! Will this change her relationship with her new guests?

You sat cross-legged on the hammock with Yin. You were facing each other, and you watched his hands intently. He was trying to teach you the sign language from his world. You imitated the movement and he nodded, chittering.

On the other side of the room, Donnie stood idly, a bowl of cereal in his hands as he examined your belongings around the hut. You didnt know they could even eat cereal, since Yin refused to eat anything but fresh meats and veggies. Something told you it was just their preferences- younger siblings did tend to love junk food.

“Hey, Yin? How long are you guys going to stay here?” you asked. He moved his hands swiftly.

’ _Until ship is flying_.’

“Oh, that’s right. You guys wrecked it something fierce. How are you going to fix it, though?”

’ _—-. We have —–. Fail, call home_.’

You frowned. He hadn’t taught you the word yet. All you could do was try to fill in the blanks.

“Well, I don’t understand- what’s so bad about calling home? You fight with your parents or something?” you chuckle. Behind you, Don grew silent and Yin signed sharply.

’ _Fail, death. We die._ ’

“What? Why?”

Don placed his bowl on the table and clicked, getting your attention. He crossed his arms over his chest, his fists hitting himself with a thud. Then he moved his hands in a less smooth version of what Yin taught you.

’ _Honor_.’

“Thats stupid, they shouldn’t kill you because you failed. What even are you failing?”

The brothers looked to each other and then to you, speaking lowly. Yin turned to sign to you. He made a bow and arrow motion and then moved his hands.

“Hunt?” you asked.

Yin nodded and moved them in the same sign to show you that’s what it meant.

“What are you hunting?” you tilted your head.

“Hunting- you.” Donnie clicked, mimicking you. Both Yin and you stare at him. Your mouth opens and closes as you try to form words.

Yin stands up, the hammock swinging dangerously, and grips Donnie by the hair, leading him through the front door. You cover your ears as he roars.

You sit there, processing what they had said. It was a good few minutes before the brothers returned and when they did, neither met your gaze.

“Um… you two aren’t going to abduct me or anything… are you? Because if you wanted to, you’ve already had plenty if chances and-” your sentence was cut short by the withering look Yin gave you. “Right.”

You twiddled your fingers awkwardly, gaze wandering around the room. You felt increasingly uncomfortable. Who exactly had you let into your home?

You jumped as Yin took a few steps closer to you. He held his hands out, slowly lowering down to kneel in front of you. His hands moved in signs you didnt know yet. After you stared down at him in confusion he attempted to just mime things in a way he hoped you understood.

’ _I. Won’t. Hurt. You._ ’

You eyed him skeptically but gave a nod. He would’ve already done something if that had been his plan.

“So what did you mean by hunting  _me_?” you asked. Donnie lifted a hand to start talking, but swiftly put it down to leap to the side to dodge the bowl Yin threw at him. Yin turned back to look at you.

’ _No more questions.’_

You sighed, but surrendered. There was no use in trying to get him to tell you something he didnt want you to hear. And you weren’t quite sure you wanted to hear it either.

Cautiously, you laid down in your cot. You prayed to everything you could think of that Yin was telling the truth. The boys continued their conversations as you turned your back to them, drifting to sleep.

—-

You felt something on your waist and stirred. The world around you was dark as you cracked your eyes open. Another squeeze on your hip made you jolt, the haze of sleep leaving your mind. You hoped it wasnt a snake- this wouldnt be the first time a constrictor made it’s way into your house.

Quickly, you sat up, ready to fling the reptile away, but when your hand reached for your hip, it made contact with something else. You looked up, wide eyed, at Yin. His hand was resting on your hip and he was sitting on the edge of your bed.

“Yin? What-” he held a finger to his face to shush you. He waved you toward him as he stood and you followed after him. He lead you outside and into the forest towards the river. The dense canopy gave way to the open night sky and you were blown away by the numerous stars dotting it.

Yin sat down on an overhanging rock and held out his hand to assist you up. You settled down next to him, the cold of the stone seeping into you. He pointed upwards, towards the vast sea of stars.

“Yes, they’re beautiful.” you smiled. Yin shook his head and hit his chest a few times, then pointed back to the stars. “Oh! You’re from one of them?” Yin nodded, making a couple signs with his hand.

“Which one?”

He clicked in thought, then tugged on your shirt. You felt heat rise to your face. Yin glanced up and released your shirt, shaking his head vigorously. He pointed a finger at the shirt and then pointed to the sky.

“W-what? Is it the same color as my shirt?” You felt relieved when Yin nodded. Your eyes scanned the sky, looking for the speck of light he was talking about.“Is it that faint one over there? The one that looks red?” Yin nodded again and chittered.

“You’re… a long way from home.” you mumbled.

Yin shrugged and leaned back onto his arms. He didnt  _seem_  sad. You laid back to stare at the sky. You came from a big city and hadn’t seen more than maybe twelve stars at once. Somehow, in that place, you felt apart from everything. It was just you and Yin and the stars.

You yawned, stretching your arms and arching your back. Yin sat up and pat your leg, angling his head towards the way you’d came. It probably was a bad idea to spend all night outside in the rainforest, but you felt reluctant to leave the view behind.

Yin hopped off of the rock and held out his arms, gripping your waist and slowly lowering you to the ground. You didnt  _need_  help, but it looked like he wouldn’t take no for an answer. The two of you walked home in comfortable silence.

Yin quietly closed the door so he didnt rouse his brother and you both went your separate ways. As your eyes glanced over Donnie in the hammock, you halted in your tracks.

“Wait- if he’s in the hammock, where do you sleep?” you whispered. Yin patted one of the wooden chairs in a mockingly fond manor. “Seriously? No way, take my bed.” you tried to herd him towards your bed, but he didnt budge. “Yin, you shouldn’t sleep in a wooden chair.” you insisted. When he did nothing, you sighed and slipped your shoes off, then got into bed.

Behind you, there was some shuffling and what you recognized as metal being placed on the table. Your eyes drifted closed and you tried to block it out. You laid there restlessly for what felt like ages and gasped when you felt something beside you. You turned to see Yin, frozen mid motion, holding the blanket up so he could get underneath. Slowly, he removed his leg from under the covers and stood, beginning to back away.

“Yin, wh- no, no, no, you dont have to  _go_ , you just… surprised me is all.” you sighed. Why did you suddenly sound so desperate? Yin gave a curt nod and cautiously returned, settling in next to you.

“If you want to sleep back to back, I understand. Just tell me if I make you uncomfortable or someth-” as you turned over, you felt words leave you. Yin wrapped an arm around your waist and brought you  _closer_  to him. Your brain felt like it was going to short circuit. Why did he do that? Why did you let him? Why were you enjoying it?

You let out a strangled noise, conflicted and a bit nervous. However, you felt your nerves begin to melt away as Yin’s thumb grazed softly against your exposed midsection. The motion felt soothing and you felt your eyes close as he continued rubbing circles into your skin. You drifted to sleep soon after, your mind clearer than it had been in days.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast is a little more interesting with these boys around. What will you do when they’re gone?

Sun light filtered in through the window, shining on your eyelids. The curtains were so worn and full of holes, they did almost nothing to spare you from the aggressive brightness. Groaning, you buried your face into your pillow and pulled the thin blanket over your head. Your pillow rose and fell beneath your head and you froze. 

You peeked out from the blanket and locked eyes with Yin. He was watching you intently, an arm draped loosely over your back. Oh- that’s right. You let him share your cot last night. Yin clicked curiously and you scrambled to sit up, not wanting to invade his space. ~~ _(hahahahaah alien joke)_~~

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t, um, I forgot you were here.” you adjusted your sleepwear, smoothing out the creases. Yin didn’t respond, only moved to sit up as well while you busied yourself with making your breakfast. Donnie was still sprawled out- well, as sprawled out as you can be in a hammock. His clicking snores drifted through the air.

You mixed your milk and made yourself a bowl of cereal. Movement caught your eye and your hand froze mid-air, your incoming bite of food forgotten. Yin sat on the edge of your cot, stretching his arms and back. Normally, this wouldn’t phase you- you had spent a fair amount of time with him. However, he was lacking his usual garments and you could see the lean muscle flex and move under his mottled skin. You jolted, surprised by the sudden splash of milk that resulted from you dropping your spoon back into the bowl. 

“Shit!” you rubbed at your shirt, face burning. Why were you so distracted by him all of a sudden? It wasn’t like anything was different. Yin moved to sit in the chair across from you, slouching back into it and letting out a rumbling sigh. “Um… You sleep alright?” you glanced up from your cereal that you were now just stirring around in the bowl. Yin clicked and made a hand sign to you. 

👌 ‘O.K’ 

You hummed, unable to keep your lips from curling up into a smile. Yin tapped his knuckle on the table, gaining your attention. He moved his hands once more, asking you the same question. Heat rose to your face again. 

“Y-yeah, I slept like a rock.”

 Yin gave a nod at that and closed his eyes. He remained reclined in the chair as you ate your now soggy cereal, content to sit there in silence. With his eyes closed, you were able to look him over without feeling too shy about it. You were so lost in ogling Yin’s physique that you were taken by surprise when a heavy hand landed on your shoulder. You gasped, yelping a bit. Yin sat up straight, eyes shooting open. 

Donnie removed his hand and his shoulders shook with clicking laughter. Yin growled something and tossed your empty bowl at him. Donnie dodged to the side and pat your shoulder in what you assumed to be an apology. 

Yeah, he was definitely the younger sibling.

— —

The boys held a conversation at the table that you couldn’t understand. By now, you weren’t too bothered by it. You just propped your head up on your hand and listened to the dips and rolls in their speech. It was soothing, their language. Not as smooth as French, but just as relaxing to listen to. It was more choppy and primal and held beats and rhythms.

You watched them lazily, letting the lull of early morning seep back into you. You could hardly remember the last time your home was so lively. Granted, the hut you were staying in was not your usual address, but you hadn’t lived with anyone since college. And even then, your roommate preferred to keep to themself.

The only time when you truly had excitement within your own household was when you lived with your family. Your siblings were boisterous and it was a constant flurry of activity. In a way, you missed it.

Nowadays you could only get that busyness by seeking it out in the outside world through your work. And sometimes that still landed you in isolating places. Like the rainforest you were in now, for instance. You felt thankful that the brothers had shown up. Now, you didn’t feel so alone.

Of course, you would have to part ways soon. You’d go back to your life as a solo photographer and they’d go back to… well, wherever they came from. That star.

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. This train of thought had unintentionally bummed you out.


	5. Chapter 5

You watched the boys sparring by the hut. Donnie landed a few good hits to Yin, but he was severely outmatched in size and strength. The two seemed to be fighting all in good fun, even though the predatory growls and roars suggested aggression. You wondered then what real battles between members of these apex were like.      
  
Yin threw Donnie off his balance and clicked victoriously before helping his brother back to his feet. The younger sibling massaged his lower back sorely, grumbling. Yin gestured to you expectantly.   
  
“O-oh! Um, you want me to try?” you guessed uncertainly. Your stomach sunk slightly when Yin nodded and waved you forward. The hunter leaned down and picked up two semi straight poles. You scrambled to catch the one he tossed your way and held it closely to your torso. “I have to warn you, I’m pretty shit at fighting.”   
  
Yin shook his head and motioned you to come at him. Hesitantly, you readied your pole arm and took a few steps forward, swinging it at him. The resounding ‘thwak!’ of wood hitting wood reached your ears. Yin was quick to raise his pole to block your unsure attack. He clicked, almost seeming to smirk in this closer proximity. You were surrounded by his presence now, just like that morning, and you were caught up in it. Then, you remembered you had a trained hunter in a sparring match with you.   
  
You pushed the confusing thoughts back and took another swing, receiving a swift block and taunting swipe at your legs, which were in turn knocked out from under you. Above you, Yin’s eyes narrowed in satisfaction. Bastard was smiling.   
  
Huffing, you picked yourself up and got back in a fighting stance. Yin looked surprised at this, but followed suit. This time, you swung less with strength and tried to have more speed, dealing two swings to either side of him- both were met with equal ferocity and a third hit was landed, this time on your backside. 

“Oi!” you placed a hand on your rear and sent a scolding look his way. He raised his brow, taunting you again. “Oh… You’re gonna get it.”   
  
This went on for a while. You tried to land blows and were outmatched again and again. At this point, you were beginning to lose motivation and more so, breath. You were bent over, breathing heavily while Yin looked on, completely fine. Damn him.   
  
You went at him again, this time purposefully leaving your legs open and imbalanced. After your hits were returned, you felt your feet get swept out from under you again and tried to turn as much as possible before hitting the ground. With a choked sob, you wrapped your arms around yourself and coughed several times, shaking your entire frame. You heard Yin’s pole hit the ground and his footsteps approach you.   
  
Making sure to keep your head down, you allowed him to start worriedly pressing his hands over your back and arms, looking for an injury. Once he was completely occupied with searching you, you quickly yanked your pole to the side, throwing him off balance. Yin looked at you with what you could only interpret as shock.   
  
“I said I was shit at fighting, never said anything about strategy.” you chuckled, standing up and dusting yourself off. Donnie was chittering on the sidelines, clutching at his ribs as he laughed. You helped Yin up and were surprised when he held onto your hand. The two of you shared a long, wordless look, and then he patted your arm firmly and released your hand. 

The brothers started to make their way down to the river, Donnie throwing his arm around Yin as his older brother ruffled his dreds. You were left in the clearing, speechless and nearly breathless. 

“What the hell?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way too long to write and get up here, but I've been on a hiatus for quite some time and finally have some time on my hands so wooo. Its short but hey its something.


	6. Chapter 6

You sat on the riverbank, contentedly watching the brothers wade through the water. They had discarded their equipment on the bank, leaving you flustered as they walked into the waist deep water. It was only reasonable that the water basin in your hut wasnt really sufficient in properly cleaning someone- especially if they had been wading through the jungle and rolling around in the dirt. 

A sigh escaped you as you watched them. Yin brought a large scoop of water up and over his head, letting it trail down and get the dirt off of his back. His eyes caught yours and he clicked, twitching his mandibles at you. Feeling the humidity of the jungle finally truly bearing down on you, you reddened and chuckled before bursting into a full fit of laughter as Yin was nearly toppled over by a large splash of water sent his way from Donnie. The older sibling whipped around, glaring at his brother and what ensued could only be describe as childish chaos. The two chased each other in circles, sending waves of water at each other and making grunted chuckles. It almost made you want to join them, but you were all too knowing of the wildlife in the area and the last thing you wanted was a caiman or group of piranha taking a chunk out of your leg. True you weren't really worried about the latter since the water levels of the area weren't low and there didnt _seem_ to be a breeding ground nearby, but you still would rather not be a story featured on River Monsters or something.

You were jolted out of your thoughts, having realized Yin was wading towards you in a playful yet menacing manner.

"No, nononono- ah!" you screamed as he hoisted you over his shoulder and tossed you into the river. Sputtering, you emerged from the water. Yin and Donnie were chittering at you, clutching at their sides as they laughed. "Oh, you think that's funny? Well you're gonna get it!" you growled, clumsily splashing through the water towards them.

The three of you continued splashing around and goofing off for a while. At one point, Donnie had spotted a large fish and taken his spear to pursue it instead. This left you and Yin swimming around after one another. Your laughter faded as you glanced around. Yin had also disappeared now. Something grazed your leg and you shrieked as you were lifted up and out of the water suddenly. Beneath you was Yin, who had a firm hold on your legs that draped over his shoulders. Your heart was nearly beating out of your chest from the fright.

"Yin, you nearly scared me to death you bastard." your fist softly thudded against his head as you scolded him. He clicked, shaking his head, and patted your leg firmly. From his shoulders, you could see much further up and down the river- it was very nice having the wind blowing on your wet skin. A hum resonated from your throat and you leaned forward, folding your hands on Yin's head and resting your chin on them. He waded around, finishing up his bathing and splashed water up on your legs every so often to discourage the bugs from attacking you too much. Eventually, though, Yin couldn't be any more clean and hopped back onto the bank, kneeling down with a hand up to assist you down. You slide off of him, careful to use his shoulder and hand as leverage so as not to fall.

Your feet touched the ground and your gaze locked with Yin's once more. He looked up at you from where he was knelt, one hand still clasped in yours. The hand on his shoulder twitched subconsciously and a shaky breath passed your lips before you were able to shake yourself out of it when he promptly stood up. He towered over you now, angling his head only slightly to gaze at you. There was a tension there, you could feel it, thick as molasses. Yin's unoccupied hand slowly raised to where yours still rest on his shoulder. It placed it over yours, softly sliding it up to the side of his neck, then to rest at his jawline. Your breath hitched as his other hand turned to entwine his fingers with yours and the humid was unable to suppress the goosebumps rising across your skin.

You opened your mouth to speak, suddenly much closer to him than you remembered, but jumped at a loud splash and foreign sentence being yelled out to the two of you. You and Yin turned to look for the source. Donnie was wading out of the river, a large fish skewered on his spear. He was speaking his own language, you assumed boasting about his catch. Yin quickly released you, going to his brother's side and clapping him on the back and congratulating him. They both gave their chests a single firm hit before Yin ushered Donnie back to the hut with him. You watched wordlessly, still finding it hard to breathe after what just happened. _What just happened?_ You sighed, shaking your head and following the boys. Surely it was nothing to get yourself hung up on- it was nothing. Right?

 


End file.
